Atl. Madrid vs Granada CF prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2023-08-13 19:30.
After a rather tepid pre-season which saw Atlético Madrid fail to defeat two fellow La Liga (LL) sides, last season’s third-place finishers will be looking to hit the ground running in their latest attempt to break up the established order. The capital club have won the league just once since their 2013/14 success, so finding greater consistency than that which saw them win just two of their final five games last term (W2, D2, L1) will be key to any potential title upset.
Comfortably the longest-serving manager in LL with over 11 years of service under his belt, Diego Simeone’s transfer approach has somewhat mirrored that stability with the €20m permanent re-signing of former loanee Antoine Griezmann. Another facet of Simeone’s tenure has been strong starts; Atléti have never lost a league opener under his stewardship (W6, D5) and that run includes victories to begin each of their last four campaigns.
Trying to end that run in what is in truth a baptism of fire are last season’s Segunda DivisiĂłn champions, Granada. Los NazarĂes make their LL return after just one season away, and they’ll be hoping to replicate their last season as newcomers when they finished seventh back in 2019/20, although realistically, the aim is to simply survive and establish themselves as a solid top-flight side once more.
For a bit of added context between the clubs, Granada originally wore blue and white until 1939, before the club’s owners bought Atlético shirts due to the lack of materials in the wake of the Spanish Civil War! The colour scheme has stuck ever since, but they’ll be hoping to at the very least become a thorn in their hosts' feet after a run of seven straight unbeaten season league openers (W2, D5).
Players to watch: Griezmann contributed to an incredible 31 of Atlético’s 70 league goals last season (G15, A16), and he could get away to a flyer here with 14 goal contributions (G8, A6) in 19 personal H2Hs with Granada. Trying to spoil the party will be Granada’s Albanian hitman, Myrto Uzuni, who scored an incredible career-best and Segunda División Golden Boot-winning haul of 23 goals last season.
Hot stat: Atlético lost just once as pre-match favourites in home league action last season (W13, D3, L1).